Eyewitness to a Genocide - by Michael Barnett (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Michael Barnett, who worked at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations from 1993 to 1994, covered Rwanda for much of the genocide. Based on his first-hand expeiences, archival work, and interviews with many key participants, he reconstructs the history of the UN's involvement in Rwanda. Barnett's new Afterword to this edition includes his reaction to documents released on the twentieth anniversary of the genocide. He reflects on what the passage of time has told us about what provoked the genocide, its course, and the implications of the ghastly events of 1994 and the grossly inadequate international reactions to them.

Review Quotes

Eyewitness to a Genocide is a searching and nuanced moral analysis.

Barnett's book is a must-read for anyone concerned with the role that international institutions play in crafting a more peaceful world order.

Michael Barnett offers a chilling exploration of why the UN froze while about 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates were hacked to death in Rwanda in 1994.

About the Author

Michael Barnett is University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at the Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University. He is the author of Empire of Humanity, coauthor of Rules for the World, and coeditor of Humanitarianism in Question.